More Press Releases From This Past Weekend's Various Races

British Superbike Championship: John McGuinness (77) in action at Oulton Park. Photo by Glynne Lewis, courtesy of John McGuinness.

Strong ride at Oulton for McGuinness

Morecambe’s John McGuinness put in a strong ride at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday to take 13th at round three of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championship. Competing at his local circuit, John again proved his short circuit form is as good as ever which puts him in a very strong position heading towards the International road race meetings.

Competing at one of his favourite short circuits, John made a solid start to his weekend with sixth place in his group’s opening qualifying session on Saturday but the pace was a lot quicker in Sunday’s second session and he had to dig deep to maintain his position. However, he did just that and improving his lap time by 1.3s to 1m39.568s, he placed sixth overall in his group for a third row start. A superb start saw John make up five places at the first corner but a rare mistake saw him overshoot one of the chicanes and drop back ten places.

However, he quickly regrouped and with a series of fast and consistent lap times, he was able to take 13th at the chequered flag to maintain his top ten place in the Championship.

Speaking later, John said; “That’s probably been one of the most competitive Superstock weekend’s I’ve ever known and not only were the times quick, they were also incredibly close too! I’ve lapped quicker than I’ve ever gone on a Superstock bike around here so I have to be pleased with how I’m riding right now but it was tough out there. I knew I needed a good start and that’s exactly what I got, moving up to sixth almost straightaway but I got a bit carried away and overshot Hizzy’s on the opening lap.”

“I dropped way back and after that I just concentrated on keeping it all on the island and as smooth as possible. I’ve got some big meetings come up and that was at the back of my mind but I was pleased with how I rode after the mistake. The lap times were good and I was the first non-Kawasaki rider to finish so it was good to get to the end and in the points. I always enjoy riding for Clive and the Padgetts team and the preparation for the North West 200 and TT has been spot on. I feel good and feel sharp so there are plenty of positives at the moment and I’m in a good frame of mind heading to the road races.”

John now switches his focus to the first International road race of the year with the North West 200 road races taking place on the roads linking Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush from May 14-18.

More, from a press release issued by Bel-Ray:

Bel-Ray Racer Folger Snares Jerez Podium Finish

FARMINGDALE, N.J. - The third round of the 2013 World Championship series took place this weekend at the Circuito de Jerez in the south of Spain. Bel-Ray-sponsored Team Aspar racers were in attendance in all three championship classes and competed for top positions throughout the event.

The Moto3 class took off under ideal race conditions. Bel-Ray racer Jonas Folger started exceptionally well and moved from a 7th place starting position into 4th by the first corner. He held that place early on and moved into 3rd place on the tenth lap. Despite experiencing degrading tire conditions, Folger was able to hold on for his first podium showing of the 2013 season. Folger spoke about his weekend following the checkered flag. “This weekend has been difficult but positive. We were always ahead in the free practices, but in qualifying several setbacks relegated us to seventh place on the grid, so we had to work hard right through this morning in the warm-up session. At the start of the race, with fresh tires, I feel quite comfortable. I was able to keep pace with the leading group, but as the tires degraded I began to get bounced about a bit. The bike seemed to be trying to throw me off, so I had to slow up a bit so as to not take risks. Being optimistic, we are finally on the podium this year and every day we are getting closer to the leading trio. At Le Mans we have to keep working to go that step further. The base of our bike is very good, but we have to improve a couple of points in order to draw closer.”

Both Bel-Ray entries in the competitive Moto2 class scored top 10 positions at Jerez. Coming from fifth place and seventh place on the start grid, teammates Nico Terol and Jordi Torres maintained consistent lap times to score fifth and seventh place finishes, respectively. With these results, each rider is in the top ten in the championship points standings. Terol spoke about his weekend results following the checkered flag, saying “We’ve had two very good races, we have gained the confidence we needed and surely now we will find it easier to keep this up. I’ve also learned to start solidly and control the first stages of the race, which are always crazy in Moto2.”

Torres also spoke about his weekend results. “I’m happy because I started pretty well and this allowed me to hold position. I was finally able to get a good start and keep that up on the early laps, which is a big plus. My idea was to increase the pace as the race went on, but as the temperature rose it was harder for me to control the bike - both under acceleration and under braking. I made a couple of mistakes, but luckily I was able to adapt my riding style to the circumstances today. I learned a lot this weekend and I was always amongst the top riders. Overall, it’s positive.”

Bel-Ray racers scored mixed results in the premiere MotoGP division at Jerez. Coming from 13th place on the grid, Aleix Espargaro again showed he is the best CRT racer in the competition. The top CRT machine had a ninth place finish at the checkered flag. “Today I had a beautiful race. In all of the three races so far we have managed to reduce the gap to the first few riders, so every day we are performing at a higher level. I am very happy, because we are doing things very well. It is clear that, besides myself, the team also deserves a huge amount of credit for giving me by far the best CRT bike.”

Espargaro’s teammate Randy DePuniet was also running well at Jerez but a crash on the third lap ended his day. He now looks forward to his home GP in Le Mans for a top finish. “It was a shame about the crash today, because I had started the race well. On turn nine, releasing the brakes, I lost the front. We had done an excellent job over the weekend and now we have to move on and think about Le Mans.”

All five racers rely on Bel-Ray products to protect their machines and to perform at the highest level. The same products used by the team can be found on dealers’ shelves worldwide.Bel-Ray Super Clean Chain Lube is one of the products chosen by the teams to keep their machines performing their best.Bel-Ray® Super Clean Chain Lube is an aerosol chain lube that utilizes the latest innovation in chain lubricant technology, combining unsurpassed anti-wear protection for long chain and sprocket life with an outer protective coating that will not attract dirt, sand or grit and ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT FLING OFF when used as directed.

To learn more about Bel-Ray specialty powersports lubricants, visit www.belray.com/powersports or call (732) 938-2421.Follow Bel-Ray racers all season long at www.belray.com ABOUT BEL-RAY COMPANY, INC.

Bel-Ray Company, Inc.was founded in 1946 and is a privately held, woman-owned business serving the lubrication needs of powersports, industrial and mining customers worldwide. Bel-Ray is recognized as the leader in the specialty lubricants industry for setting high standards of quality and performance with products formulated for the motorcycle, automotive, aviation, energy, food, marine, military, mining, OEM, industrial steel, and textile industries. “Flex Your Engine” with Bel-Ray’s superior Powersports line that delivers top quality Made-in-the-USA products to motorcycle and recreational vehicle enthusiasts around the world. Bel-Ray products are available at powersports dealers worldwide. Visit Bel-Ray.com for a complete dealer listing. Find the right lubricant for your equipment with Bel-Ray’s Lubricant Advisor. Like us on Facebook.com/BelRay or follow us on Twitter/Bel_Ray.

More, from a press release issued by Ace Cafe T3 Racing:

The final part went back on the Ace Cafe Racer minutes before heading out to the track for Race 1 of the Motorpoint British Supersport championship and rider Rob Guiver brought it across the line 20th overall and 2nd in the Cup class.

After a disastrous mornings qualifying, where a red flag had to be put out after three riders came off at different points around the circuit on the same lap, the Ace Cafe Racer made a commendable finish in Race 1.

Guiver was thrown off the bike at Lodge and almost everything had to be fixed on the bike before it would be able to hit the tarmac again. From the wiring loom to the exhaust system, the Ace Cafe T3 Racing team had their work cut out but managed it ready with seconds to spare.

Guiver was also in lots of pain after coming off but was determined to get the bike to the finish line. He spoke to us after the race:

“I didn’t get a bad start and it was going quite well, but after two or three laps I was just in so much pain trying to turn the bike through the chicanes.”

Team manager Ricky Chadwick was really pleased with Guiver’s performance, “Rob did a fantastic job under the circumstances. In qualifying he went over a bump which threw him off a bit and after making a mental note not to do it the next lap it happened again and threw him off!”

On lap one Guiver dropped back to 16th and got himself caught up in a battle with Hipwell, and Blacklock and for much of the race they continued to battle for position.

He struggled with injuries from his earlier crash throughout the race but eventually crossed the line in 20th.

The Ace Cafe T3 Racing team will be out on track again at 15.15 on Monday 6th May. Follow us on twitter @T3Racing and Facebook (www.facebook.com/T3Racing).

Jamie Hamilton and the KMR Kawasaki team continued their winning streak on Saturday with another win in the Supertwins class, this time at the Tandragee 100. The 22-year old added to the success already recorded on the 650cc ER6 Kawasaki at Scarborough and Cookstown to maintain his 100% record for the season.

The Ballyclare rider was comfortable throughout the 5-lap race and ended up taking his fourth victory of the season by 2.683s from William Davison. He also enjoyed a solid day in his other races although arm pump prevented him from securing a podium position in the Supersport 600cc race as he slipped back from an early lead to an eventual sixth. Sixth was also the outcome in the feature Tandragee 100 race on the Kawasaki ZX-10R as he enjoyed a good three-rider dice for fourth.

For second rider Connor Behan it was also a strong day as he made his debut around the demanding 5.34-mile road course. Despite problems in qualifying with his Supertwin machine which meant he had to start from the back row of the grid, the Northwich rider fought his way through the field to claim sixth in the Junior Support race whilst an even stronger ride in the Senior Support class saw him take third on the 636cc Kawasaki for his second road race podium in successive weekends.

Speaking later, a pleased team boss Ryan Farquhar commented; “It’s been a pretty good day and with Jamie taking another win in the Supertwins race, we’ve been able to extend our winning streak to four wins in the class and maintain our unbeaten record. He had it under control throughout and rode another good race so, with the class being my priority for the year, it’s great to top the podium once more. He was able to claim two more top six finishes despite suffering from arm pump in the Supersport race, which is something he hasn’t experienced before but Tandragee is one of those circuits where you need to know where to grip the bike tightly and where to relax. It’s one of the most demanding courses on the calendar but he brought the bike home and two more sixth places are good for his experience. I’ve said all along finishing races is the key and that’s what he’s doing.”

“Connor was making his debut at another circuit and wet conditions on Friday didn’t help his learning curve whilst problems with the Supertwin meant he didn’t get to complete a lap. We had to run a lower-spec bike for the race but to get sixth from the back row of the grid was very good whilst third in the Senior Support was obviously an excellent result. He’s finished all his races for us so far and he’s doing everything right so it’s definitely a case of ‘so far, so good’.”

The team now head into their busiest time of the season with the International North West 200 and Isle of Man TT races taking place in the next month. First up is the North West 200 which takes place on the 8.9-mile circuit linking the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush from May 14-18.